The Fat Princess and the Numbskulled Pauper
by ihatewriting
Summary: Shy, fat Hinata has an anxiety problem, overactive sweat glands, and a crush on an amazing boy. She wants to be a dancer but must first survive high school. AU set in the mid-1990s. Possible NaruHina, NaruSaku, KibaHina, KibaIno, ShikaTema
1. Chapter 1

_Welcome to Konoha Academy, one of the most prestigious preparatory schools on the West Coast. We have a vast array of students, ranging from talented individuals who have earned a place, and sometimes a scholarship, at this school through their academic merits to overprivileged, snot-nosed brats whose parents were able and willing to pay the exorbitant tuition fees._

_Two of our most promising freshmen this year are Hanabi Hyuuga and Gaara. Although all students from the Hyuuga family have maintained a tradition of academic excellence, Hanabi Hyuuga is considered a genius even for their family standards. Five years her sister's junior, Hanabi has been placed only one grade below Hinata. Gaara (his records indicated no last name) has earned a full scholarship to Konoha Academy based in his outstanding test scores and his groundbreaking research (conducted while he was only in middle school). He and his siblings migrated to the United States not long ago, following the fall of the Soviet Union. Let us hope that this academic year be filled with pleasant surprises._

Hinata sighed as she pulled out her handkerchief with her pudgy fingers and dabbed at the moisture collecting on her upper lip. The three Hyuuga children stepped out of Neji's Bentley Turbo R and parted ways. Hinata had offered to escort Hanabi to the main office, but Hanabi had refused, not wanting to be seen with her weird and clumsy older sister. Hinata walked toward the Hiruzen building and pulled down on her skirt, wishing that it covered more of her stumpy legs. She was disappointed that she had not lost enough weight over the summer—she had actually gained some—and began to get anxious. To calm her nerves down, she pulled out a milk chocolate bar and wolfed it down. It made her feel better instantly.

Hinata checked the message board at the entrance of the Hiruzen building and learned that her homeroom this year would be in H213 and her teacher would be Iruka Umino. She felt a strange sense of glee since Iruka was the uncle and guardian of her two-year crush, Naruto Uzumaki. Naruto's parents had died in a car crash when he was only a baby forcing Iruka to enter fatherhood at a tender age of 18, since Naruto had no other blood relatives. His godfather, Jiraiya, was barely making his own ends meet, but had graciously sent monthly stipends to Iruka to help care for Naruto.

Naruto had not been popular at the academy because he was loud, rather dull-witted, and not nearly as wealthy as most of the other students. His guardian Iruka was able to secure enrollment and a partial scholarship for Naruto, despite his below average grades, because Iruka was a faculty member at the Academy. Hinata had admired Naruto since freshman year, the first time she had met him, because he possessed something she lacked—an uncompromising sense of self worth that did not seem to diminish even with his countless failures. Moreover, he was one of the few boys who recognized her and went out their way to talk to her even though she was overweight and fraught with a severe anxiety problem.

The first bell rang and the other students began to pour into the classroom. She spotted Kiba Inuzuka, who gave her a cursory smile and took a seat toward the back of the classroom, and Shino Aburame, who gave a curt nod and took the seat behind her. She tried to see if she recognized anyone else in the class. _Ino Yamanaka, Sakura Haruno, Shikamaru Nara, Naruto Uzumaki, and — shootshootshootshootshootshootshoot I'm in a class with Naruto!_ Hinata's upper lip and temples began to perspire, her pace quickened, and her breathing shortened, and before she realized it Hinata began to hyperventilate.

"Hinata, calm yourself."

After hearing Shino's voice, Hinata nodded and focused on taking long, deep breaths. Her heart was beating hard but at least it was no longer fluttering. If she were going to befriend Naruto this year, she would have to keep from getting a panic attack whenever she saw him. She nodded once more, this time to herself, and closed her eyes.

"Hinata? Hey, I almost didn't see you there."

She turned to the slightly raspy voice. _Oh dear._She crossed her arms over her waist, hoping it would hide her muffin top.

"Um...Hi Naruto. How was your summer?"

"Kinda lame. I had to work seven 60-hour shifts! But hey, at least I can buy a used Pinto soon," Naruto grinned.

Hinata blushed. Despite not being a stellar student, Naruto was a hard worker. He helped Iruka pay for their expenses and his reduced tuition by working at a shipyard across the bridge from the school. Though his job was far from glamorous Hinata was amazed (and secretly envious) that he was practically self-sufficient at a young age.

"Oh, that's wonderful," Hinata managed to squeak out after failing to think of anything clever to say, "Um...will you be working during the semester, too?"

"Yeah, but probably fifteen to twenty hours a week tops. It's illegal otherwise, you know?"

"That—that's—that's—underforture—unfortunate..." _Oh bother, get a grip, Hinata!_

"Heh, I'll live."

Moments later, Iruka passed out their schedules. Naruto and Hinata noticed that they had history together and Hinata spent the next few minutes dabbing her face with her handkerchief.

Hinata felt happier than usual as she breezed through her first four classes. Perhaps this year was going to be better than last. However, fifth period was her most dreaded class—gym. Hinata did not loathe exercising (she actually had a surprisingly high stamina). She hated gym because of those offensively short gym shorts. Of course, Hinata felt that anything above the knees was too short, but these showcased her cottage cheese thighs to the world. Thank goodness she did not have gym with Naruto.

The students were instructed to sit on the floor of the gym as coach Guy Might, or Mr. Might, ran back to his office to look for his missing class roster. Hinata crossed her legs and checked her watch. _It's only been 10 minutes? It can't be!_ She suddenly felt something poke into her butt. It felt like the rubber toe of someone's tennis shoe. She listened to the voices behind her and singled out two female voices belonging to Kin and Tayuya. It didn't seem like they noticed that something of theirs was lodged in Hinata's large posterior. She wanted to move away but was afraid that any sudden movements might draw unwanted attention to her embarrassing situation. She began to sweat bullets. Before she could do anything else, she heard Kin whisper.

"Pst, Tayuya, look at your foot."

"Ugh, that's nasty! You can see her crack!"

"Ew sicky! And it's all sweaty too."

Upon hearing them mention her sweaty crevice, Hinata pulled the back of her shirt down in an attempt to salvage what was left of her pride. The two girls started to giggle. Fortunately, Mr. Might returned at that very moment and ordered that each of them stand and say aye when called upon. After roll call, he announced that they would not start exercising that first day, but they should be ready to put their fire of youth to good use starting the day after. Hinata was disappointed, as she had looked forward to running laps since she was already drenched in sweat.

The bell rang, and Hinata scampered off to her final class, World History. She was happy to finally see Naruto again after having only homeroom with him, but walked in the classroom to see that he was already seated beside Sakura and was trying to flirt with her. She clumsily walked down his aisle, almost tripping over several backpacks, and hoped that he would at least notice and say hello to her before she took a seat at the very back of the classroom.

"Hey Hinata, this one's empty," he pointed to the seat next to him.

"Naruto...thank you!" Hinata shuffled back down the aisle she came from and up the next aisle to sit at her designated seat.

"I'm trying to figure out why Sakura won't go on a date with me," said Naruto loudly, "Hinata, do you think you can convince her for me?"

"Idiot Naruto, it's pretty simple to understand for anyone with half a brain, " Sakura said exasperatedly, "I don't have a penis. You don't have a vagina. And I don't have the interest."

"Bah, fine. Believe me, it's your loss. A lot of girls would go on a date with a stud like me. You'd date me, right, Hinata?"

"Um..." Hinata didn't respond quickly enough, as her heart was laden with both excitement for the idea of Naruto asking her out on a date as well as disappointment that the chances of him asking on a real date are close to nil.

"She's not saying yes, retard. That's probably her polite way of saying no. God, where is Hatake?"

Almost as if on cue, Kakashi Hatake walked in.

"Sakura, don't you mean _Mr._Hatake?"

Sakura ignored the question, "Why are you late? If you don't finish all your official business soon, you won't have time to pass out books!"

Despite her mild envy of Sakura, Hinata admired the girl's almost overzealous devotion to learning and achieving. Sakura was an type A to the letter, and was the captain of the school's Science Bowl team as well as captain of the badminton team. She was what most people could call a sexy geek. Despite lacking the curves that her best friend Ino was blessed with, Sakura's big, round forehead graced her with an alienesque beauty.

At the end of class, Naruto hastily bid Hinata farewell and lingered around an angry Sakura. Hinata left the classroom a bit more dejected than when she first entered it, and met up with her sister. She told Hanabi to tell Neji to go home without her, as there were some things she wanted to do first. After leaving the school campus, she walked across the bridge to the local dance studio.

"Hinata, it's nice to see you again! How was your summer?"

"It was fine, Miss Yuuhi. How was yours?"

"Busy. I started seeing this wonderful man. Oh, and we had a ridiculous turnout. I hope some of them come back next year."

"I'm sure they will, Miss Yuuhi."

"Hinata, how many times do I have to tell you to just call me Kurenai," the teacher smiled, "Shall we do jazz today?"

"Of course, Miss Yuuhi."

The reflections in the mirrored walls mimicked the dance of two figures, one a tall, lean woman and the other a short, portly girl, both possessing the grace of a swan.

When Hinata returned to the Hyuuga Estate her cousin Neji asked where she was for the last three hours. Hinata lied, saying she was at chess club.

"Hn, maybe you should have joined a sport instead," Neji sneered, "And you might want to think about taking a shower."

Hinata said nothing but smiled politely and excused herself.

_Shitshitshitshitshitshitshit shit shit SHIT!_ Naruto pumped his legs as fast as he could. _Next time, I won't wait around for her, I won't._He had stayed later than he should have because Sakura had asked him to carry her book bag to her car and then insisted that he carry her badminton equipment to the gym. Now he was running like hell after the 51, and would be really late for work if he didn't catch it. To his dismay his usual bus had been early. _I'm such a loser..._

Almost miraculously, the bus halted to a stop before going across the bridge. The driver glared daggers at Naruto as he stammered his apologies. Thankfully, he would only be ten minutes late now. When he arrived at the shipping yard, he bumped into Temari, a porter with a slight Russian accent.

"Temari, don't tell them I'm late. Please, please, it's my second time this month, PLEASE!"

"Hmph," Temari growled, "Lazy Americans. Hurry before they catch you."

Three hours later, Naruto went back to the lockers to change and go home. He saw Temari heading to the women's section.

"Temari! Heh, thanks for earlier. Do you wanna get dinner? It's on me today."

"I must return to prepare dinner for my brothers. But you are welcome to join."

Naruto was tickled by the prospect of a free meal. "Hehe, you sure it's OK? Where do you live?"

"Yes, you are very welcome. My home is a fifteen minute ride South on the 40."

"Wow, you live in the tenements? I mean, uh, I'll be out in a bit."

"What are the tenements?"

Nothing, see you in five minutes!"


	2. Chapter 2

Shortly after the first day of school, Kakashi divided the class into groups of three and assigned them all long-term research topics. Hinata, Naruto, and Shikamaru had been put in the same team, much to Hinata's delight. Naruto, however, was disappointed that he would not be in the same group as Sakura and that she was instead in a team with Sasuke Uchiha—the academy hottie—and Ino. That group was not going to get any work done. Hinata's group had read the prompt for their project:

_Discuss the economic and sociopolitical factors that led to the fall of the Soviet Union as well as the implications of the USSR's fall for the United States. Include at least one primary source and four secondary sources in your bibliography. Your report must include either a book discussion and/or interview._

Naruto mentioned that they should do the interview instead, especially since one of his coworkers had lived in the Soviet Union, so they could also get their primary source out of the way—like killing two birds with one stone. Shikamaru had argued that interviewing a woman was a terrible idea, since they tend to go on and on about their feelings and life stories that it'll just take too damn long. Naruto then complained that Shikamaru always complained too much. Shikamaru retorted that listening to Naruto's prepubescent voice is troublesome. The two boys ended up deciding not to worry about it right away, since the deadline for the first draft of the book discussion and the interview transcript would not be due for quite some time.

It was a warm Friday evening in September when Naruto had already left class for work. Hinata nervously approached Shikamaru with the day's date in mind.

"Um…Shikamaru?"

"Yeah?"

"Um…I know Naruto wanted to do the interview, but the deadline for the first draft of the book discussion is in two days and—"

"Shit…" Shikamaru sighed and muttered another obscenity as he fished out his cell phone from his pocket and dialed Naruto's home number.

"He's not picking up," Shikamaru snapped his phone shut, "I think he might be at work. Let's just go get him."

"Okay!"

Hinata and Shikamaru quickly got in Shikamaru's Lexus I350 and drove across the bridge to the shipping yard. Shikamaru parked the car in a red zone and left the key in the ignition, instructing Hinata to move the car if the police came. Hinata had no time to protest that she could not drive.

Shikamaru approached a man wearing a yellow helmet and asked where Naruto Uzumaki was. The man pointed in the direction of a large metal crane. As Shikamaru headed toward the crane, the man suddenly remembered procedure and asked,

"Excuse me, sir! Do you have permission to be here?"

"Don't worry about it."

As he approached the crane, he saw Naruto carrying boxes and chatting with a rather scrappy-looking blonde girl wearing a flannel shirt and carrying even more boxes then Naruto.

"Hey! Hey! Naruto!" Naruto and the girl turned around. The girl looked annoyed.

"Shikamaru, why are you—WHOA!" Naruto started to run, "Shikamaru, are you OK?" Apparently Shikamaru had tripped on a metal beam and had injured his shin during his fall."

"Why you little—Gahhh!" Shikamaru winced and clutched his leg.

"Come on, we need to get you to the locker room. If they see you lying here, I could get fired."

Shikamaru almost forgot his aching shin when he realized that the girl was reaching down to carry him.

"Absolutely not. No self-respecting man lets a woman carry him."

"Nonsense, imbecile." He could not place her mild accent at first, but then he realized that she must be the Soviet coworker Naruto was talking about. She roughly picked him up and carried him bridal style.

"This is humiliating. Please put me down, NOW."

"Shut up, idiot. Put your arm around me so you don't bounce."

"Ugh, whatever," Shikamaru rolled his eyes as he complied. A shrill ring interrupted his thoughts.

"Whoa, Shikamaru, you have a cell phone??"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes and snapped open his phone, "Hinata? What? You can't drive? Naruto, hurry go up and to the front and take the car around, a cop's coming."

"Roger!" Naruto dashed toward the exit.

When Naruto got in the car, he was greeted by a flustered Hinata.

"Um…Naruto I'm so sorry! I didn't get a chance to tell Shikamaru I don't know how to drive."

"Don't worry about it," Naruto grinned as he turned the engine on and put the car into reverse. He looked back, pressing his hand against the cushion of the passenger seat. Hinata turned a few shades darker and her imagination ran wild. It kind of looked like he was putting his hand on her shoulder, like they were on a date, like they were going to a fancy dinner or a movie, and maybe afterward he would kiss her and—

"Stupid Shikamaru. Why did he park in red when there's free parking just around the corner?"

"Oh...um…he probably didn't want to walk too far."

"Lazy bastard," Naruto parallel parked the car in the tight spot, bumping the sedan behind. When they both got out of the car, Naruto jovially pushed Hinata's shoulders from behind.

"Lets go let's go let's go!"

"Yes!" Hinata broke into a sprint toward the shipyard.

"Hinata, Shikamaru's in the locker room!" Naruto called after the stumbling girl. _Heh, she's kinda weird sometimes._

Several minutes after Naruto arrived at the locker room, a disoriented Hinata appeared.

"Hey Hinata, we're actually about halfway done with the interview."

"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry, I was trying to find the locker room!"

"Don't worry about it. One person conducting it would have sufficed. This dolt here just made it more troublesome."

"Hey, at least this dolt didn't need a girl to carry him!"

Temari, seemingly unaffected by the two boys, introduced herself to Hinata, who did the same and thanked Temari for her time.

"You are most welcome. You all can repay me by driving me home."

"But my leg still hurts."

"Shut up crybaby, you didn't even sprain or fracture it. Oh hey, can I drive your car to Temari's? Oh and Temari, can you make that us that soup that you made yesterday?"

"Borscht? Your friends might not like it."

"I don't really care what Shikamaru likes, but Hinata will, right?"

Hinata could only whimper in delight. Today would be the first time she would be spending this much time with Naruto.

When they arrived at Temari's apartment complex, Hinata had quietly warned Shikamaru about the possibility of his car being stolen or broken into since the sidewalk was littered with broken glass, but he assured her that his troublesome mother made him get the comprehensive insurance policy so whatever. The group entered the yellow-gray apartment complex and walked up the stairs. Hinata tried not to notice the hallway's stench, which was reminiscent of a concoction of sweat, urine, and vomit. To their pleasant surprise, however, Temari's apartment was very clean and rather cozy. It contained a single bedroom that her two brothers used to share. The elder brother Kankuro, however, was studying theatre at Julliard, so the youngest sibling Gaara had the room to himself. Temari slept in the small living room on a pile of neatly folded blankets. The unit had no dining table but there were stools next to the counter creating a small, cheap bar. Worn, old photographs of various people, buildings, and sceneries were either taped or tacked onto the walls. Overall, Hinata liked the apartment. It was the antithesis of her spacious, sterile, and rather inhospitable mansion.

Shikamaru finished the interview in the kitchen while Temari cooked borscht and prepared sauerkraut. She had hastily tied a pack of ice to Shikamaru's leg, and to his surprise, it worked wonders. In the meantime, Naruto was "helping" Hinata type up the book report. More accurately, he was being amazed by her new laptop (it had Windows 95!) and was distracting her by playing _Hover!_ and losing miserably. She was happy that he was so impressed when she was able to win easily. It took a lot of energy to stay focused when he was looking over her shoulder with his breath hot on her cheek.

"Umm, Naruto? If you'd like, umm, you can borrow it over the weekend?"

"What?! Are you serious? Are you sure?"

"Sure, Naruto. I hope you like it."

"Wow, thanks! Hinata, you're the best! I'll give it back to you Monday!" Naruto grinned and gave Hinata a brief bear hug. After he let go, she had to pull out her still moist handkerchief and dabbed her upper lip and forehead. This was turning out to be a wonderful day.

After Shikamaru was done marking his notes, he told them all that he was well enough to take them home. The three of them left after thanking Temari. Hinata was the first to be dropped off. After she entered her room, she leaned against her door and sighed dreamily. Then a wave of dread washed over her. "My assignments are on the laptop."

Sasuke Uchiha sat on the balcony of his family's $10 million home and watched the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean. He carefully thought about how ironic it was that the things other people envied him for were making him miserable. People were stupid. They thought that he was lucky because he was rich, handsome, and intelligent, neglecting to understand that all three of these qualities cursed him. Why don't they understand that you don't own your money? Your money owns you. Possessions tie you down and make you miserable. They keep you from living the life you were meant to live. Being poor was a blessing._Happiness is relative. It cannot be bought. When you have nothing, you have nothing to lose. At least they have something to live for—something to strive for in order to fulfill their meaningless little lives. At least they have hope._His intelligence was a burden. Ignorance is bliss. Ignorance meant not seeing the futility of every endeavor, not seeing people and their pathetic attempts at greatness, at world peace, at finding true love. It meant not seeing piles and piles of human waste as far as the eye can see. _They don't know what it's like to be thinking all the time, to see the world in a way they could never begin to fathom, to see reality rear its ugly head everywhere I look but they don't see._He cursed his flawless skin and chiseled features for the unwanted attention they brought him. He then thought about Sakura and Ino, his new group mates. _Those stupid whores only see a shell. They are shallow and filthy like a pack of used car salesmen from the slums. I will make them pay. I will make them pay for not having the decency to realize that they can never understand me._


	3. Chapter 3

Hinata's group had started meeting regularly on Fridays at Temari's small apartment to work on their project. It was the happiest Hinata had been in a long time. Shikamaru, surprisingly enough, had started to bring Temari groceries to cook for the entire group. Because he had offhandedly remarked that women were not domestic enough these days, Temari had forced him to help her cook most of the time. Despite his protests and loud sighs, he oddly seemed to enjoy her presence.

On a mild October day, Hinata was very much looking forward to the end of the day because she was going to give ramen to Naruto and Temari had offered to make chocolate vodka for everyone again. She had been hesitant to try it the first time, since it contained alcohol, but found that it did not burn her throat. Rather the pungency of the chocolate was absolute perfection. It was sweet and dark and tasted like her heart whenever she imagined herself dating Naruto.

During lunch, she shared a chocolate bar with Shino as usual and the two spent most of the break in comfortable silence. After fifth period gym ended, Hinata went to the lockers to change. _Twenty more minutes until History with Naruto!_ As she was changing, however, dread washed over her as she heard two female voices.

"Tayu, why can't you come to the Pacific Place Mall today? Sasuke Uchiha might be there!"

"No shit, Sherlock. I'm broke as fuck. My sorry excuse for a father's suspending my allowance for two months because I crashed the Porsche. Stingy-ass bitch."

"Ugh, what? That's like so wrong. Hey, why don't you just get some money from _that_ piggy bank?"

Hinata froze in terror. _No. Leave me alone. Leave. Leave. Please leave._ She scrambled to close her locker as she heard footsteps approach her. She quickly grabbed her book bag as the two girls walked close enough for her to see their shadow.

"Hey Porky, I need some money and I _know_ you—wait, HEY!"

Hinata's feet had taken off before she could think clearly. She could see the sunlight emanating from the open door of the locker room. _Almost there. I'm gonna make it. Yes!_ Something crossed her vision. A large trashcan tumbled across her path and she couldn't stop in time to avoid it. _No._CRASH! As she lied on the floor and tried to collect her thoughts, she heard the clatter of two pairs of feet catching up to her.

"What a stupid fat cow."

"Bitch, don't fucking run away when I try to talk to you, got it?"

THWACK. Tayuya's toe connected with Hinata's brow. _That might leave a mark._ Hinata thought it was rather funny for no apparent reason that Tayuya's shoe had been in up her butt the first day of school. Now it was in her face. She unwittingly began to smirk.

"The fuck you smiling about, queer? Kin, get me her money."

"Ew, I don't wanna touch her shit," Kin grimaced but complied. "Oh my god, she has like 10 chocolate bars in here. No wonder she looks like that." Hinata felt tears welling up, but she prayed that they would not fall until after these two left. She inwardly cursed herself for not being able to do anything, for almost crying while Tayuya held her head down with her dirty foot.

"Found it! Ew, what kind of dork owns a Care Bears wallet?" Kin grabbed the cash and threw the wallet in the spilled trash that littered the floor.

Tayuya removed her foot, but now Hinata felt her hot breath against her ear. "Next time I talk to you, you stay and listen. Got it?"

Hinata slowly got up and searched for her wallet. She began to cry silently. Her breathing was still normal and slow, but tears had started to fall in a steady stream. She found her wallet, dusted it, and put it back in her backpack. As she walked to her history class, she dabbed eyes furiously with her handkerchief, not caring that the rest of her face was sweating bullets. Although her head didn't hurt from where Tayuya kicked it, she could taste her own pain. She was angry and ashamed. She was angry with herself for not doing anything. She ashamed of herself for being so afraid, so weak, so shy that those two had felt entitled to treat her like trash. Maybe her father was right. Maybe Neji was right. Maybe Hanabi was right. _"Hinata can't do anything."_She remembered her younger sister scoffing Hinata told her she'll attempt to go on a diet. _"Hinata can't do anything."_She remembered her father's reaction when her uncle suggested that Hinata should go to law school. _"Hinata can't do anything."_And Neji who had seen her dance once. "_Hinata can't do anything"._She opened up her backpack. _Hinata can't do anything.._ She walked to the nearest trashcan._Hinata can't do anything._She opened the middle compartment of her backpack, and held it upside down. _Hinata can't do anything._ And she shook it furiously. _Hinata can't do anything._Her supply of chocolate bars fell into the trashcan.

When she entered the class, she kept her head down, hoping that Naruto wouldn't see her face. She was actually relieved when he only said hi, and continued to talk to Sakura. She sat down and began to take out her books. She lowered her head so that her bangs would hide her eyes from Naruto's view.

"Hey Hinata, are you looking forward to the choc—Wait, are you crying? Why is there a footprint on your face?"

"It's—it's nothing. It's nothing," Hinata forced a smile. She felt Naruto squeeze her hand.

"Will you tell me about it later?"

It was a pleasant surprise. She had expected him to pry and be overzealous in his attempts to cheer her up. "Yes." Naruto gave her a light smile and turned around.

Lecture had helped Hinata calm down significantly since she had always been at least mildly interested in the history of the Ottoman Empire. By the end of class her face showed no signs that she had been crying. Hours later, she met her friends at Temari's apartment. As Shikamaru helped Temari cook, Naruto pulled her aside. "Hey, now you promised you'd tell me." And Hinata did.

"Oh my god! Hinata, you can't let them do this to you! You have to get your money back next time!"

"B—but how?"

"You have to fight back!"

"Nononono I'd rather not. It's not that even that much. Thank you, though, for your—"

"NO! Hinata, you HAVE to fight back! You're too good for this shit!"

Hinata blushed furiously. Naruto stood up. "Come on," he said, pulling Hinata up as well. He put his fists up.

"Hinata, hit me."

"Naruto, no!"

"I'm gonna teach you how to fight, so hit me."

Temari and Shikamaru had stopped their preparation to watch.

"Naruto, you're not thinking of hitting a girl are you?"

"No, but I'm gonna teach her how how to hit me."

"Oh then that's OK." Shikamaru felt a sharp pain in his side, and glared at Temari.

"You said it's OK."

"Troublesome bitch. OW!"

"Hey Temari, c'mere for a sec. Hinata, we'll show you how it's done."

Temari walked to the center of the small living room and put her dukes up. "Hinata, watch what she does." Temari beamed at Hinata. "Watch and learn, and maybe you can be undefeated like me." Temari started sending a series of quick, deadly looking punches to Naruto's face, which he blocked with his forearms. "See how she does it, Hinata? Jab, jab, hook. She's going easy on me. Jab jab, hook. Now," Naruto swiftly ducked to avoid an elbow hook to his head, "look at how she guards herself."

It was Naruto on offense this time. Hinata was surprised to see that his punches were even more deliberate—faster and harder. "See how she guards her face?" Temari was blocking her head with her forearms and decreasing the impact of Naruto's blows by slowly but constantly moving.

"Naruto, what kind of loser hits girls anyway?"

"Shut up, Shikamaru. Come here, Hinata."

"Um, what should I be doing?"

"I want you to hit Temari. Here, we'll go easy."

Naruto stood behind Hinata and held her wrists. Hinata turned beet red and she wished her hands were free so that the could wipe the sweat collecting on the back of her neck. Hopefully, Naruto can't smell her.

"You remember to put your thumbs outside your fingers." Naruto corrected Hinata's fists.

"This is called a jab." Naruto swung Hinata's left fist straight toward Temari.

"And this is a hook." He swung her right fist in a swift curve.

"Remember that most of the power isn't gonna come from your arm, but from your center," Naruto moved his left hand to her belly.

"Eep!"

"Naruto, stop molesting the poor girl."

"No it's OK, Shikamaru. This is helpful," said a tomato-faced Hinata. Shikamaru only smirked.

"So put your gut into it," continued Naruto, "when you punch your back should turn a little, too," he said moving Hinata's shoulders slightly clockwise as she swung her left fist.

"Good, you're starting to get it!"

Sakura and Ino took their evening walk on the 4 mile path surrounding Silver Lake. The two lightly clad young ladies attracted a lot of attention, much of which was unwanted, from joggers and dog walkers that happened to cross their path. Sakura pulled up her black polyester shorts, feeling just a tad bit restless since the passersby seemed to admire Ino more due to her significantly larger chest. Ino chattered on about how hard it was to convince Shikamaru to throw a Halloween party at his house.

"Hey, if he does throw the party, do you think Sasuke will come?"

"Sakura, that's like the point. It'll be a party with a bunch of hot guys, but we'll just conveniently forget to invite the bitches."

"Ino, there are only a handful of good looking guys at our school. I don't know who else you'd invite besides Sasuke."

"That's so not true! I mean, yeah, Sasuke's the cream of the crop, but there's also Kiba, Neji, that new Sai guy…"

"Hm OK, but most of these people probably won't come."

"Stop giving up so easily. You know we can make them come." The blonde smiled mischievously to herself.

"As long as Sasuke's there, I don't really care about the others."

"Oh so speaking of Sasuke, does he hate us or something? I mean, he's been telling us what to do for the project, but he never wants to meet with us."

Sakura furrowed her brows and thought for a moment. "Why don't we find out?"

"How?"

"We can pretend that we're both in love with him—not just crazy about him, but actually in love with him. We can see if he rejects either of us."_Or if I'm lucky, he'll go out with me._ The thought of being rejected by Sasuke was almost unbearable. But she had to find out if he would choose Ino over her. Ino was her best friend, and there's so much Sakura would do for her. But Ino can't have Sasuke.

"Yeah! And then if he hates me, he might talk to you about me and vice versa."

What Sakura didn't tell Ino was that she didn't have to pretend to be in love with Sasuke. Ino, however, had already suspected it. After all, she had known that Sakura would never come up with a half-assed plan like that if she didn't have something else in mind.

"You just got money from the pig, so why can't you come to Pacific Place?"

"Kin, I fucking told you I'm busy, so shut it. I'll see you tomorrow or something."

Tayuya drove her white '91 Accord across the bridge and into town. She parked near a run down convenience store and walked inside. A large overweight man with an orange mohawk was manning the counter.

"Hey, fatass, miss me much?"

"What do you want, tramp?" The man smiled.

"What time do you finish? You're having dinner with me. I'm paying."


	4. Chapter 4

When Sasuke checked his email, what he found made him happy for the first time in months. He had received an email from Peter Singer's assistant at Princeton. Peter Singer had read his essay that was published on _The New Yorke_r and was interested to learn more about his views on global poverty, it wrote. Would Sasuke care to meet him when he visits California next month? Finally, Sasuke thought, a chance to secure an Ivy without family connections. Not to mention that it felt good when someone important is interested in what you had to say.

Sighing, he pulled out his history book to prepare for the reading assigned for the next two weeks. He was't so surprised to find a pink heart-shaped card tucked behind the front cover. It was a note from Ino. She and Sakura been pestering him about the Halloween party for the past few weeks.

_Hey handsome,_

_Just reminding you not to make any plans this Halloween because you're coming to my party. I'll be really upset if the hottest guy in school doesn't come._

_XOXO,_

_Ino_

Sasuke couldn't help but smile. His experiment was going to begin soon. It first started as a thought experiment, but he had been wanting to test it. How quickly would a woman desert her best friend for a man she hardly even knows? Perhaps he'll start with Ino after all, since she would probably be the one to betray Sakura first. _Don't worry, Ino. I'll come._

* * *

Hinata felt ashamed of herself. She had spent the entire weekend practicing throwing punches in her room with her CD player blasted "Trouble" by Shampoo on repeat. But now, she was nervous and terrified. She had to force her knees to stop shaking during first period. At this rate, she will have spent all her energy before gym class. Perhaps another chocolate bar could help conserve her energy. As she bent over to search for a Snickers in her backpack, she felt someone's hand on her back.

"Hey, you excited to get your money back today?" _Oh, it's Naruto._

"Whoa," he removed his hand from her back and brushed it on his pants, "you're really sweaty. Are you OK?"

"I-oh, um, yes. Just a bit nervous, that's all."

"Hah! Nervous? Don't be! If you need help, just yell really loud and I'll come running. Just make sure you're loud enough, so that I can hear you all the way from the R building."

"Oh..." Her silly heart started to beat so hard that it felt like her lungs had gotten smaller. She willed herself to breath deep and slow. "Thank you, Naruto."

When it was time for lunch, Hinata looked around for Shino. She was glad to see that Kiba sat with them today. Apparently this was one of the few times that he decided not to skip out and eat off campus. "Hey H-money, how you been?"

"Hinata, the manner in which your knees are shaking tells me something is awry. Speak your mind."

Hinata told them about Tayuya, the locker room incident, and her plan to confront her during gym.

"I urge you to take caution, Hinata. Remember, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. And Tayuya is someone who raises hell even without being scorned."

"Hey, don't forget that that bitch was the one doing the scorning here." He turned to Hinata, "Hey, listen, either way, I'm proud of you for standing up for yourself. Just be careful, you got that?"

"Thanks, you guys are the best," she said in her squeaky voice as she hugged them.

When the bell rang, her nervousness kicked in and she wanted to die. Nonetheless, she trudged herself to the gym's locker room and tried to pump herself up. It worked briefly until she saw Tayuya changing into her clothes. At least Kin isn't here today. _Maybe I won't even have to fight at all. Maybe I can just ask her for the money, and she'll have a change of heart and will stop picking on me... Heck, who am I fooling? _She changed into her gym clothes and stuffed her backpack into her locker. She walked over to Tayuya, trying to put on her best game face.

"Tayuya, I would like my money back." She cursed herself for raising her tone at the end, making it sound more like a plea than a command.

Tayuya slowly turned around, cocked her head to the side, and stared at Hinata through the corner of her eyes. "Bitch," she chuckled, "are you crazy?"

"Give me my money," her voice was significantly firmer this time.

"No," she hissed, drawing back her fist, "but you can have a knuckle sandwich!"

Hinata blocked the punch with her left forearm and delivered a solid blow to Tayuya's nose. It seemed that her body reacted much more quickly than her mind this time. Tayuya was now on the floor covering her bleeding nose.

"God, you pig! The fuck was that for?! Get the fuck away from me!"

_What? _Tayuya started to cower. _Is it over?_ She reached out to touch Tayuya. _Was it really that easy?_

"Leave me alone!" With that, Hinata left the building.

Kiba had been waiting by the side of the building since the lunch bell rang. He wasn't too worried about being tardy since his auto shop teacher liked him. When he finally saw Hinata walk out, looking very nervous but also very exhilarated, he was relieved. _That's my girl__._

_

* * *

  
_

At the beginning of the class, Hinata was terrified that she would get in trouble for violent conduct. Thankfully, when Tayuya finally joined the class, she said nothing. When Mr. Might asked her why she was late and sported a swollen nose, she responded that she fell and had to clean herself up. Does Mr. Might have a problem with that? Mr. Might told her to cheer up, that her nose wasn't something a youthful four laps around the track couldn't fix. Now get to it.

When her class finally ended, Hinata noted that Tayuya painfully avoided her. She was the last to enter the locker room and the first to leave, taking her clothes and backpack and running off in order to change elsewhere. As Hinata walked to her sixth period class, she replayed the scene over and over again. She could not believe that her first time standing up to someone would be so painless. From what Naruto told her, she imagined it would involve constantly telling herself not to give up despite being beaten to a bloody pulp. She felt a bit hypocritical, since she didn't usually approve of violence. Still, she couldn't help but be pleased with herself._ Maybe this means I can take care of myself after all. Maybe...just maybe this means I'm strong?_

When she got to History, she told Naruto all about her first fight.

"What?! From just one hit?! Hinata, you're awesome!"

"Heh...no...shucks...oh it was nothing," Hinata smiled coyly. _Naruto is proud of me!_

"Here, a present for the champ." Naruto slid a chocolate bar on her desk.

"Thanks!" Hinata suddenly got an idea, "Ummm Naruto? Ummm...if you don't mind, would you, erhm, like to go to dinner with me? I mean, I would like to thank you, you know, for coaching me and all. But I mean, ummm, it's only if you have nothing better to do."

"Yeah, sure! Naruto Uzumaki never turns down a free meal! Meet me at the ship yard at 7?"

"Of course!"

* * *

It was Neji's first day at his new gym. He didn't like it much but it was the only thing he could afford with his own money. He supposed he could ask his uncle for money, but he didn't like the man much. And since it was his last year at Konoha, he wanted to leave proud. In Neji's terms, that meant breaking the school's record for the 400 meter sprint. And that meant working out during weekends too.

He walked around the crowded room, trying to find a machine that would help him work on his deltoids. Most of the equipment seemed to have tattered cushions that were simply held together with duct tape. This place almost seemed like a joke to him. Outdated equipment. Men who pretended to lift weights only to ogle scantily clad women. Fantastic.

"Need some help?" The person speaking was a pretty girl with light brown eyes and two dark buns fastened at the top of her head.

"No." He continued to search for the deltoid machine, unaware that the girl was still following him.

"Which muscles are you trying to work on?"

"Shoulders."

"Oh! Let's go over there then." She led him toward the western end of the gym.

"Listen," she whispered, "I know you're not interested, but that creepy man has been hitting on me for the past few days, so I'd appreciate it if you could pretend to be my friend for the next while."

"Fine."

"My name is Tenten."

"Neji."

"Nice to meet you, Neji."

* * *

"And then I told her sequins come and go, but floral never goes out of style. And like Coco Chanel said, fashions fade, but style lasts," Ino chimed.

"Yeah speaking of fashion, will you put on some decent clothes? Your boobs are falling out of your shirt."

"Shikamaru, why are you so afraid of a little skin? You're such a prude...." Ino chided.

"Uh guys, where do you wanna eat tonight?" Chouji felt the need to change the topic before his two friends started to bicker again.

"I don't care, as long as it's not barbecue. I'm so sick of barbecue! It's like that's the only thing you boys ever wanna eat!"

"Whatever. I heard about this ramen place downtown. It's supposedly good but it's kinda grungy," Shikamaru said.

"Sounds good." As long as the food was good, the place could be a dump for all Chouji cared.

* * *

After Hinata had finished her practice with Kurenai at the dance studio, she asked if Kurenai wanted to join her and Naruto for dinner. Kurenai said she wouldn't do something so cruel as tagging along with her on her first date, despite Hinata insisting that it wasn't a date. However, Kurenai did insist on driving Hinata to the shipping yard. When Naruto finally came out, Hinata asked Temari if she wanted to join them for dinner at a local ramen shop, to which Temari consented.

Ichiraku ramen was located on the opposite corner of the strip club that many of the residents frequented. In order to blend with its surroundings, the restaurant's small entrance was adorned with colorful neon lights that looked surprisingly tasteful. However, as far as good decor, that was as far as the restaurant went. The floors were decked with dirty linoleum and the tables were made of cheap wood, dark and sticky after years of its pores absorbing spilled soup and sauces. But what Ichiraku lacked in hygiene, it certainly made up for in zest. The food kept customers coming back for years, and Naruto had been one of its most loyal patrons.

A friendly elderly man greeted them from behind the counter, "Hohoho, Naruto, are these your girlfriends, you lucky dog?"

"Hehehe," Naruto scratched the back of his head, "I wish!" Temari snorted and Hinata tented her fingers nervously.

"Teuchi, we'll sit outside!" Naruto led his friends outside to a large table by the window. He chose the seat closest to the window so that he could see across the street and watch people enter and leave the strip club. He was about to point out to the girls the cool surfer sunglasses that the bouncer was wearing when his thoughts were interrupted by a lazy baritone.

"What are you guys doing here?"

"Whoa, Shikamaru? Why are YOU here?"

"You told me this place was good, so I brought Chouji and Ino to try it out."

"Um Shikamaru, Ino, Chouji, please join us."

"Thanks," Ino chirped as she sat next to Naruto, "Hey so, you guys are totally coming to Shikamaru's Halloween party, right?"

"What?! HEY, Shikamaru, why didn't you invite us?! I thought we were pals!"

"Calm down, Naruto. It's not even really my party. Ino's forcing me to throw a party at my house because they're still expanding her pool. You guys are free to come if you want, but I'll probably just be asleep upstairs."

"WHAT?! No you won't be, dimwit! You're wearing the costume that I'm making. That's final."

"Oh umm, Ino, Shikamaru tells me you make beautiful dresses."

_I didn't say beautiful._

Ino studied Hinata carefully. "Hinata, you have amazing skin. What kind of soap do you use?"

"Oh ummm, thanks I really don't," Hinata wished she knew how to react to compliments, "I don't know, ummm, I just use whatever is in the soap dispenser." She could feel her upper lip getting moist again.

Shikamaru smirked. _It's not the soap, Ino. It's because she sweats so damn much._

"Well, anyway, I'm going to make you a dress and I want you to wear it at the Halloween party. Don't worry it'll be fabulous. My dresses look great on plus-sized people too!"

Shikamaru and Chouji winced at her comment, and Ino happened to notice.

"What? Oh! I'm so sorry, I just meant for people who aren't that skinny. You aren't offended, are you?"

"Oh, ummm, no I'm not, don't worry, Ino."

"Yeah! Hinata's not like you, Ino, she's really tough!" Naruto said to a suddenly livid Ino. Hinata wondered what she had done to deserve such a wonderful day.

"Yes, you shouldn't worry, this one here is strong," said the darker blonde.

"Ahem, so Temari," Shikamaru jumped at the opportunity to change topics, "are you coming to Ino's party? There will be a lot of people you can terrorize."

"I will try to come babysit you if I get off work on time."

"Great, maybe I will ditch the party after all."

The others at the table did not notice that the two exchanged wry glances at each other for the rest of the night.


	5. Chapter 5

Ino Yamanaka was not pleased with the results. _Technically_ speaking, burning an extra 1,000 calories each day would mean losing approximately 2 pounds per week. She wanted to lose 5 pounds, which was why she started her strict diet and exercise regime two and a half weeks ago. She was tired and frustrated, but then why did she only lose one pound? _Stubborn piece of shit body! Calm down, Ino, you don't want to get premature wrinkles. Let's see that toothpaste-commercial smile... and...beautiful!_ She supposed it wasn't so bad. The girl from the "Cherry Pie" video wasn't exactly skinny, just buxom - in which case she was all set. She was happy with herself for having thought of that. Sure, the music video came out five years ago, but five years is the approximate amount of time for something to get so played out and lame that it was cool again. _Ino Yamanaka does it again_. She hastily put on her red hat and trench coat (after all, she needs to be Carmen Sandiego until Shikamaru's parents left the house). Once she looked just right, she left her house and headed for Shikamaru's.

Hinata tried on the dress and became absolutely giddy. She was never really into dresses or clothes that did not look like potato sacks, but the halter dress that Ino made for her was absolutely gorgeous. It made her feel kind of - dare she say - pretty. Surprisingly enough, she was not embarrassed by the low V neck, and flower-patterned black lace over the silky beige fabric made her feel shockingly classy. Now the problem was coming up with a costume to go with it. A witch might be nice. She could just put on a hat. She grabbed a black felt hat and a mop (she couldn't find a broom) and waited for Neji to finish his shower so that they can leave.

"Shikamaru, you should be thankful Ino was kind enough to help you organize this party."

"Mom, Ino was the one who wanted this party in the first place."

"Well, I'm sure her heart was in the right place. After all, there will be _some_young ladies attending, won't there? Honestly, Shikamaru, you're 16 years old! You've practically gone through puberty–"

"Mom..."

"–and you've yet to express any interest in women. And Rosario tells me there are posters of that Beverly Hills fellow under your bed, and I really hope you don't use that to–"

"Mom! Those are Ch... Ino's. Now would you just go?"

"_What_was that, young man?"

"I mean, you don't want to get stuck in traffic, right?"

"Well now, that's better. I didn't think I raised an bratty little..."

Just then, Ino walked into the dining room, making her last rounds inside the house before checking the pool area.

"Mrs. Nara, I can't thank you enough for convincing Shikamaru to go through with this. He's so lucky to have such a smart woman to keep him in line. Being around only boys for too long makes you dumb." Shikamaru scoffed at the irony.

"Ino dear, you are absolutely right. Now please take care of my son this weekend. Oh, and by the way, thank you again for that lovely evening gown. Mr. Nara thoroughly enjoys seeing me in it."

Ew, Shikamaru thought.

"Of course, Mrs. Nara! Have a lovely weekend!"

As soon as the door shut behind Yoshino, Ino immediately threw off and trench coat and tousled her hair. "I look soooo hot in this."

"Which street corner did you come from?"

"Shut up, prude. Besides, this outfit is really practical. I have my bikini underneath this Cherry Pie getup. Wanna see?"

"No. Hey, Chouji."

"Ey guys, the food looks good."

"Awww Chouji...that's not a costume! Wearing your football jersey doesn't count! You wear it pretty much to practice everyday. Why am I the only one here with a real costume?"

"Ionno, but you look hot."

"Ooh thanks! Chip?"

When Hinata arrived, the party was in full swing. She had been shocked to find that Ino's marketing tactics worked as well as it did. Even her cousin Neji had agreed to come, though he absolutely refused to wear a costume, and he rarely attended parties. When she walked into the house, her heart quickened a bit, and she hoped that she would not get sweat stains on her brand new dress. She scanned the room for her friends, and regarded every blonde haired male extra carefully in case Naruto was wearing heavy make up. Her eyes were drawn to Sakura, who was battling Ino for Sasuke's attention. Sakura was also dressed as a witch, but her black dress was much more form fitting and she wore a pair of lethal-looking stilettos that supported her slim, muscular calves. Hinata glanced at her own short, stumpy legs and her mop. _Well, I guess I should be happy that I have this beautiful dress._

"Looking good there, lil' mama," said a voice behind her.

She turned around to see Kiba, dressed as Alex from _Clockwork Orange_(one of Kiba's favorite books - probably because it's one of the few he's ever read), and could not help but wonder why she had never noticed that her good friend was so handsome.

"Oh, hi Kiba! I like your outfit."

"Ehhh, the shirt's kinda too tight, but who cares?"

"Do you know when Shino's coming?"

"Nah, he said his new ant farm came in. It's supposed to be totally massive."

"Oh, I see."

"Man, I think I'm gonna bounce soon. The food here sucks. There's only, like, some carrots and celery and shit. And the chips are gone. What kind of idiot serves vegetables at a party anyway,"

"Oh, um, I think Ino planned everything. The decorations are nice though."

"Man, who cares about the decorations, this party sucks – Um, Shikamaru, hey."

Shikamaru appeared behind Hinata in brown slacks and an olive green polo shirt.

"Yeah, this party really does suck. Hey Hinata, so Temari and Naruto couldn't make it because they had to work overtime, and it's way too noisy to go to sleep right now. I was thinking of heading over to the shipyard and hanging out with them until things settle down a bit here. You can come with me or stay here if you want. I can drive you home if Neji leaves before we come back."

"I'll come! Kiba, would you like to come too?"

"Nah, you guys go ahead I think I'm gonna get some food soon."

Hinata hugged Kiba goodbye and told Neji to go home without her. After fetching the mop that she almost forgot, she caught up with Shikamaru.

Sakura and Ino were drawn to Sasuke like moths to a flame. He looked strikingly attractive and fascinating, despite not having a costume. Sakura concluded that it was because he was actually talking to them. Ino thought it was because of his dark blue satin shirt. Sasuke found Ino sexy (it was hard not to, since there was not much that her costume did not reveal, and Sakura beautiful, although he must say that he could not care less about the two girls. _Especially Ino, that brainless tramp. At least I'll have some fun with her tonight._To his surprise, however, he actually found conversing with Sakura to be tolerable at certain moments. He'd much rather be working on his essays, but he thought of this as a type of exercise to test mental stamina. He found himself wondering if Sakura would be interested in reading some of his essays. Sakura's small sleek cell phone suddenly rang. Her face hot with irritation at the caller, she flipped open her small cell phone.

"What?" She smiled at Sasuke and bowed slightly before leaving the house to get better reception.

"So, Sasuke, have you looked up stuff for our project yet?" Ino silently cursed herself for not coming up with a more interesting topic.

"Yeah," he locked his dark eyes on hers, "Do you want to come to my house to look at it?"

"Sure," she cooed, "and maybe we can have some fun afterwards." _Dammit, I'm leaving my party to go do homework?!_

Sasuke noted how quickly she forgot about Sakura.

When Sakura returned, the two were gone. She suddenly felt uneasy, and left when she could not find them in the next hour.

Sasuke drove a black 1996 Mercedes-Benz S-320. No one in their class had one, since it was to be released the following year, but Sasuke's father had bought it for him for his sixteenth birthday. As it turned out, Sasuke only lived several miles uphill from Shikamaru. The Uchiha complex was stunning despite being a bit minimalist. However, Ino could not say she liked it. The cubic structure felt a bit too clinical for her, and the atmosphere felt rather icy despite the mild temperature.

Sasuke led Ino up a flight of chrome stairs into his room. Ino's hormones were raging, and Sakura was nowhere near her mind.

"Hey so, do you wanna study?" Ino said as she peeled off her costume, revealing her polka dot bikini, "Or do you wanna go for a dip?"

Sasuke felt himself stir just a little, despite his contempt for the blonde's vapid nature. _Let's see how true this stereotype is._He put one arm around her waist, and tipped her chin up, and kissed her slowly. In a matter of seconds, she wrapped her right leg around his waist, demanding more. To her disappointment, he broke free from her kiss. He unzipped his pants but left them on.

"Kneel."

Ino stood frozen with her thin brows knitted and her mouth in a small circle.

"Wait, _what?_"

"I want you to kneel and open your mouth."

"Um....no, I don't do that."

_Yeah and a fish hates water._

"But I thought you liked me."

"Sasuke, I do, but that's just totally gross."

"Get out."

"What? Why?"

"Leave, before I call the police."

For almost a minute, Ino couldn't move.

"I said leave!!"

She hastily picked up her clothes and shoes and left without putting them on.

When Sasuke was alone, he zipped up his pants. _Hm, surprising._He was very irritated (not to mention embarrassed, as it was the first time he was rejected), but he was intrigued. Who would have thought that he would be scorned by that airhead of all people?

As soon as she got to the sidewalk, she started to cry. Normally she did not want people listening to her blubbering, but guilt overrode her self-consciousness. _Sakura, I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I wasn't thinking. Oh God, please don't let Sasuke tell anyone about this. Sakura, honey, I'm so sorry. Why do I have to be so easy?!_ She started to choke in an attempt to hold back her tears, and slime was dripping down from her nostrils. She blew her nose with the red top she was holding. When she calmed down, she became frightened. She realized she did not bring her phone or her wallet, and now she had no way of getting anywhere. She supposed she could ask some chump for a ride, but that didn't sound like such a good idea. Not to mention her face probably looked like an apple pie now after rubbing it so much.

"Why are you in your underwear?"

Ino jerked her head up and saw an amused looking Kiba (looking mighty fine too, she thought) in his 1967 Chevy Impala.

"Um excuse me, this is a bikini, genius. And for your information, the first thing you should do when you see a your beautiful friend stranded in the middle of nowhere, is to offer her a ride."

Kiba rolled his eyes as he leaned over to open the passenger's side. "We're not exactly friends, blondie."

Ino stomped over to the car, got in, and slammed the door shut.

"Thanks for being gentle to Agnes," Kiba said sarcastically.

"What? Ew, you named your car Agnes? That totally sounds like some ugly woman's name."

"That was my grandma's name, baby," Kiba lied.

"Oh. Sorry."

"Don't worry about it, where to?"

"I need to go back to the party. But..." Ino thought of Sakura again, "I don't wanna go back just yet. Just take me anywhere."

"Big Time Burger it is then. Your food really sucked."

As they neared the shipyard, Hinata tried very hard to contain her feelings. And failed. She could not help but smile like an idiot. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at her but said nothing. When they arrived, Hinata stepped out of the car before it was fully stopped, to Shikamaru's dismay, and pranced around the sidewalk waiting for Shikamaru. They walked to the shipyard's break room, with Hinata walking at an unusually fast pace with the mop flailing about in her right hand. When they saw Naruto and Temari playing chess in the break room, Hinata's voice faltered as usual,

"H-hi guys. Are you, um, playing, chess?" _Darn it, what a stupid question!_

"Gah, finally you guys are here! This game is so boring!"

"That's because it's for smart people," a lazy voice drawled.

"No, stupid Shikamaru, it's for OLD people! Hinata, do you wanna get ramen with me?"

"Oh! Um, of course!"

The blonde and the chubby girl walked out, leaving the two more sardonic people.

"You can play chess?"

"Didn't you just see me play with Naruto?"

"Okay well, do you still want to play?"

"Fine, are you black or white?"

"Tch, you'll probably want to play white."

The Soviet raised an eyebrow. "You assume you are the superior player?"

"Yeah. I could be wrong. But I'm probably not."

"Hmph, time will tell," she moved one of her pawns two spaces, probably slamming it a bit harder than she wanted. "Go."

Ino never knew that this Tekken 2 was so fun yet so frustrating. Her hands were starting to smart from mashing on the buttons so damn hard, but her Nina Williams was still getting her ass kicked by Kiba's Paul Phoenix. _Damn, at least he paid for my tokens._ Ino admitted to herself that Kiba was surprisingly fun despite his roguish, ungentlemanly behavior. She wondered why she had never gotten to know him sooner. Plus, he was smokin' hot.

"Jeez, third perfect round for me. You really suck."

"Whatever, this game sucks!" Ino harrumphed and returned to their table to nibble her half-eaten burger.

"You know, if you're full, I can finish that for you."

"Um, hello, you've already had two!"

"Well, you don't wanna get fat, do you?"

Ino let out a cry of bitter resentment and coldly shoved her tray toward Kiba.

"Calm the fuck down, blondie, you're not fat." He pushed the tray back.

Ino couldn't help but smile. "Hey Kiba, you know that cashier's been checking you out this whole time."

"Hm?" His eyes widened as he turned to the cashier, who instantly averted her eyes.

"Yeah, in fact," she leaned closer to Kiba, "she's been staring at your sweet ass the whole time we were playing."

"Heh, well, maybe that's why you kept losing - 'cause you were staring at her and all," retorted a flustered but flattered Kiba.

"Say, uh, Hinata, you look really good tonight. You should wear dresses more. And uh, that's a really nice broom."

"Oh, um," Hinata started to giggle nervously, "thanks but no, um, I really don't look all that great. And, um, I couldn't find a broom and all I had was this mop." She waved her arm absently and the butt of the mop accidentally hit Naruto's head.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! Naruto are you OK? I'm so sorry!"

"Hinata, I'm fine," he let out a raspy chuckle. "Oh, and I really did mean it when I said you look nice tonight. Say, let me buy you ramen tonight."

_Oh my gosh, this really is turning into a date._ "Um, it's okay Naruto, I can pay for us." She was lucky the velvet sky camouflaged the bright color of her cheeks.

"Hehe, nah don't worry about it. I wouldn't want you to, you know, put a spell on me or anything." Naruto giggled at his own lame joke.

_Naruto, if I only could._


	6. Chapter 6

To Neji's surprise, having a friend during workout sessions did not turn out to be as horrible as he thought. Sometimes Tenten asked him more questions than he cared for. Other times she would talk about herself, which he preferred. In the weeks that followed his first day at the gym, he learned that she went to Konoha High School, the public counterpart of Konoha Academy and its lesser rival in terms of academics. It seemed that she hated most of the boys at her school and believed that most guys who try to make themselves seem like gentlemen are actually chauvinistic pigs. He also learned that she, like him, was also a runner, even though she did long distance instead of sprinting. Her parents owned a small Chinese restaurant downtown, and she often worked there during the week. She had asked him to stop by there exactly twelve times. Most of these times, he responded with maybe, but he had yet to visit the place.

Neji usually did not enjoy the company of teenage girls, but he decided that Tenten was not so bad. He could tolerate talking to her, even if she wasn't as smart as his cousins. At least she was smarter than Ino Yamanaka. He thought that perhaps he respected her background. Though far from being poor, her family was from the working class. He had never actually met a girl who drove a Vespa. She told him motorbikes had been useful back in Guangzhou, but they turned out to be less practical in the States. She had to get a separate license to ride her Vespa, and she found out it wasn't legal to transport large cargo for the restaurant in it either.

Neji had felt a bit uncomfortable about sharing his background with her and was especially ashamed of his Bentley. He was afraid it would make him seem pampered and spoiled, though he could not comprehend why he cared so much about what she thought of him. For that, he made sure that he always left after she did, although that was usually hard since she seemed to make up excuses to stay longer and talk to him.

"Hey, Neji, do you know someone named Lee?"

"Yeah, he's one of my teammates. Why?"

"Oh, he and I live on the same block!"

"He's _trying_ to be a sprinter."

"Why did you say it like that?"

"Because he'll never be one. I've told him before, but he doesn't listen."

Tenten knit her brows together. "I'm sure he could if he really tried. You've never seen him want something badly."

"It doesn't matter. You and I both know he doesn't have the build for sprinting. He's a good long distance runner. He should just appreciate what he already has."

"Well anyway," Tenten said, trying to change the subject, "We all should hang out some time."

* * *

"Say, Temari, why is it that we've never seen your brother? You said he goes to Konoha Academy, right?"

"He usually comes home late because he does research after school at the county lab."

"Oh, what kind of research?" asked Hinata.

"Physical chemistry."

"What the heck is that?" Naruto made a confused face at Temari.

"The study of chemical reactions on a subatomic level."

"What?"

"Ugh," sighed Shikamaru, "Just forget it, Naruto."

"Hey, you lazy jerk, no one was asking you."

"Um w-what does your brother look like, Temari?"

Temari handed Hinata a picture of the three siblings together. "Red hair."

"Oh, well, umm, he seems very smart."

"Hm," Naruto yanked the picture out of her hands and scrutinized it, "does he seem smarter than me?"

"OK Naruto, even my cat seems smarter than you," retorted Shikamaru.

"Um w-well, you're definitely really smart Naruto." Temari raised an eyebrow at Hinata. "You go to school and you work and you support yourself. You wouldn't be able to do that if you weren't smart."

"Hinata, you always say the nicest thing to me, you know that?" He wrapped his arm around her and touched his head to hers. Not wanting him to see her turn beet red, she excused herself and hyperventilated in the bathroom.

Naruto asked himself why Sakura could not see him for more than a hyperactive knucklehead, when Hinata always saw the best in him. What did Sasuke have that he didn't have anyway? _ Well, other than wealth, good looks, brains..._ But Hinata never fawned over Sasuke, when Sakura and Ino couldn't go on for five minutes without mentioning him. She was a nice girl and he considered her a good friend.

* * *

"Hi guys, umm I'm going to be in a dance recital next Saturday and I was wondering if you two would like to come?"

"I apologize, Hinata. I will be in Malibu for my cousin's wedding."

"Oh, um, that's fine. I hope you have fun, Shino."

"I'll come. Isn't this your first recital?"

"Yes, it is! I'm very nervous about it. I think I'll be one of the oldest people performing."

"Hey, don't worry about that. I'm proud of you." Kiba gave her a warm hug.

"Thank you, Kiba. Do you want to get lunch afterwards?"

"Sure." He thought for a second, "Hey, did you ask Naruto if he could go?"

"No! You two are the only ones who know I dance!"

Kiba smiled. "Are you sure you don't wanna invite lover boy?"

"Kiba!" she faked an angry pout at him, "Promise me you won't tell him about it. You're the only one I want there."

"Alright, sounds like a date."

* * *

For the next few weeks after the Halloween party, Sakura noticed that Ino had been avoiding her. Each time they saw each other, Ino always seemed out of character. She seemed quiet, a bit sad, and also a bit too…nice. No forehead or flat chest jokes. Sakura figured that something was wrong, but she did not pry. Ino will talk when she's ready. _Maybe she'll tell me at dinner tonight._

On the other hand, Sasuke was warming up to her rather quickly, and she had no one to share the happy news with. Sasuke had started asking her for her ideas on the project, and they had shared several afternoons together at the academy library discussing their research. There seemed to be steady progress in their new friendship, and Sakura thought they were the happiest days of her life.

"Sakura, would you like to come over to my house today?"

Her heart nearly stopped beating. "YES! I mean, sure, it's not like I have anything booked for today." She made a mental note to cancel her dinner with Ino.

When Sakura arrived at his house, she learned that even Sasuke, who was usually cold and impersonal, could be very gracious. He took her for a tour of the Uchiha compound, explained to her the cubist inspirations for the main house. And as she already suspected, he was one of the smartest boys she had ever known. Contrary to what most of her friends thought, her feelings for him were rooted far deeper than his dark eyes and toned body. She knew plenty of good looking guys, like Kiba, but Sasuke was deep. When other boys worried about partying and getting laid, he was thinking about world hunger and the energy crisis. And although she knew a lot of smart people, like Shikamaru, Sasuke was driven. He was a hard worker. He did not pursue his interests simply because his parents nagged him to. He longed for recognition from just about everyone. In a way, he was much like her. She felt they traveled on the same wavelength and understood each other's need to put pressure on themselves.

After several hours of discussing politics, technology, and music, he invited her over to his balcony to watch the sunset. As she watched him watch the sunset, she saw the slight curl of his lips and it dawned on her that he was even more beautiful when he smiled. Sakura's heart soared, and she silently hoped that this would somehow mark the beginning of a beautiful relationship with Sasuke Uchiha.

* * *

About an hour after Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru left, Gaara came home.

"You're home early."

Gaara only responded with a nod. The dark rings under his eyes betrayed his fatigue. Temari had noticed that his pants are now only go down to his ankles. She would need to buy him new pants, but she would have to measure him first. She inwardly groaned at the thought of bringing that up with him. The two had never been close, and the incident five years ago had done little to help their relationship. On a chilly December morning in 1992, the siblings found out that their mother had been killed. Their father, who had been a high-ranking official the former Soviet government, fled, abandoning his three children. Only their uncle Yashamaru had been there to pick up the pieces, if only for a short while. He helped them pack their belongings, and sent them on the first flight to the United States. He gave them the address of a safe warehouse where they were to wait for him. They waited for him, carrying their life savings of $400, three suitcases, and the remnants of an outstanding education. Yashamaru never came.

Temari knew that destruction of their family had severely damaged her younger brother's psyche. She did what she could to secure her the future of her two younger siblings. She searched all over town for a job that could support the three of them, and finally earned her place at the shipyard. The work was far from glamorous but it put food on the table. She wanted her brothers to have as much of a normal life as possible, so she made a point to keep them from working menial jobs. One time, when Kankurou insisted on applying for the night shift at 7-11, they got into a volcanic argument. He said he wanted to do theatre. It was not a career that would solve all their financial troubles, so why won't she let him do his share of the work now? She told him to stop insulting her, that she made enough money to support the three of them no matter what he wanted to be. Kankurou screamed at her, calling her stupid for not letting him help their small family. She slapped him, forgetting that Gaara was in the room. She and Kankurou had settled their differences, but Gaara had not regained his trust in her. And she had too much pride to apologize.

* * *

The following weeks after Halloween, Hinata started to notice that there was new tension between Kiba and Ino. She rarely saw them talk, but whenever the passed by, they would hold each other's gaze. Ino was usually smirking. What Hinata did not know was that they saw each other rather frequently. She had picked up his habit of leaving the campus for lunch (against school regulations, of course). She had first started going because her guilt urged her to avoid Sakura. She chose the nearby Big Time Burger because the food was good, from what she remembered from her night out with Kiba, and because she associated it with a rather fond memory. She had only been half-surprised to see Kiba there, with a greasy burger in one hand while having a crude conversation about strip clubs with one of the local dropouts who frequented the restaurant. He had introduced her to his friend as "some tramp I know," to which she responded by pouring coke on his pants. She then bought him lunch the next day as an apology, and to return the favor for when he spotted her on Halloween. Lunch then became their regular bonding session that occurred twice or three times a week.

"Hey dog boy, wanna go see a movie next Saturday? Clueless is coming out."

"Can't. I have to go to a thing."

"A thing?"

"Yep."

"How about Sunday?"

"Sounds like a date." _Aww man, _Clueless_? I wanted to see _Die Hard_…_


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N**: This is the longest chapter so far and it takes place shortly after the last chapter, namely the Friday and Saturday of that same week. The Sunday is going to be an entirely separate chapter. This chapter is a bit lacking in NaruHina, but hopefully the next one will compensate for it. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

"Man, I can't believe that we're actually close to being done. This is the first time I've ever finished something early. Hinata, do you think we'll get an A on the project?"

"I—I really hope so, Naruto."

"It's not like you did that much work anyway."

"Hey, I helped, pineapple head!" Naruto expressed his discontent by scrunching up his face. Hinata let out a shy giggle.

"Whatever. I'm gonna go see if the dictator is done cooking."

"I heard that," came a husky female voice from the kitchen.

After Shikamaru left the living area, Naruto scooted closer to Hinata.

"Say, Hinata, can I help with anything?" Though he was too proud to admit this to Shikamaru, he actually did feel a bit guilty for contributing the least to the group. Hinata had done most of the work, but Shikamaru had done a fantastic job of editing and putting everything together.

"Oh, well, umm..." Hinata wanted to make Naruto feel valuable. But she wasn't sure if there was anything he would feel confident doing. "Oh! You can write the bibliography."

"Great! Um, Hinata, how do I do a bibliography again?"

"Oh, umm, just write down the titles of the books, their authors, publication dates, umm, where they were published, and the publishing company. And then I'll show you how to format it."

"Awesome! Hey, Hinata, you don't think I'm useless do you?"

"N-no, of course not! I'm sure Shikamaru was just joking. You were such a big help Naruto."

"But you wrote most of the stuff."

"Yes, but you did the what neither of us wanted to do. You actually went out and got _all_ the books we wanted. That saved the two of us a lot of time and effort. So thank you."

"Oh. Well, you're welcome, Hinata." He gave her one of his winning smiles and rubber her back.

If she had not gotten the chance to work with him, she never would have known that he actually needed acknowledgement once in a while, and that he did have moments of self-doubt despite his usually boisterous, and sometimes cocky, attitude. Despite the fact that she fell for him because he seemed so sure of himself no matter how much others put him down, she did not like him any less for his insecurities. It allowed her to relate to him better and made her feel closer to him. Maybe she could take a few lessons from him, she thought, and stop thinking that her flaws and timid nature made her less of a person.

In the kitchen, Shikamaru entertained himself by watching Temari chop onions.

"You are helping me?" Temari said. It sounded more like a statement than a question.

"Not really," he replied, though he picked up a knife and started chopping anyway.

"You owe me a rematch."

"I'm always up for chess. But...are you sure you want a rematch? Because I don't think anything will be any different this time around. But it's alright, no one expects you to beat me."

Temari glared at him and mockingly held her knife at his throat.

"God, why are women so violent? And I don't care what you say, you can't use PMS as an excuse for everything. Why do you people feel the need to be so troublesome _all the time_?"

Temari raised her eyebrow in disbelief, and shook her head. "You only have to put up with me for another month more or less. Am I right?"

"Yeah..." As a rule, Shikamaru didn't like group projects. They were way more draining, since he would actually do work because he didn't want other people's grades to suffer from his natural indolence. For some reason, though, he wasn't thrilled that this one would soon come to a close. It might be the delicious food that came with every Friday. Or because he was glad he found a friend in Hinata, whom he never really knew so well before. Or that he got a chance to spend time with Naruto again. None of these answers satisfied him. Or maybe… _Nah._

He had only known Temari for a little more than two months. He wasn't sure if he knew her well, but he knew Ino would say that she wasn't his type. She was too rough, too crude for his taste and often made him feel bourgeois and prissy. Sometimes he felt like he would break under her glare. She reminded him a little of his mother, and that was usually not a good thing. She was not strikingly beautiful, like Ino (_Ew awkward_), but he often found himself not being able to keep his eyes off of her. He often told himself that it was because he found her so frustrating. She seemed to _enjoy_ picking meaningless fights with him and, unlike Ino, her arguments were often valid.

But he had to admit he had a lot of respect for this girl. _Woman_, he corrected himself. She was tough, practical, and smart. She didn't talk about herself that much. Hell, he'd even bet she knew more about the three of them than they did about her. She preferred to make fun of him than to talk about herself. He felt uneasy at the thought that in a little more than a month, he will never have a real excuse to see her again. He didn't know her well enough to visit her without using Naruto as an excuse. And he wondered if he could change this before their time was up.

"Why are you staring at me?"

"The onions are hurting my eyes," he blinked furiously, embarrassed because he was unsure whether he was lying.

"Oh? Then am I a…what is it that you people say…a sight for sore eyes?"

"Are you…" He smirked wickedly at her, "…flirting with a minor?"

With that, her face darkened. "Thank you for helping. You can wait in the living room. I will tell you when the food is ready." Her words were laced with bitterness.

"I didn't mean—"

"Don't worry. Just…just go wait with your friends."

Shikamaru cursed himself. Too scared to explain himself, too proud to apologize, he shuffled away. "Whatever."

* * *

_Oh. My. God. Is HE actually calling me?_

"Hello."

"Sakura. Did I bother you?"

"NO! I mean, of course not, Sasuke, what can I do for you."

"I would like to try making a truffle risotto on Sunday. Would you like to come over and try it?"

_YES!!!_ "Sure, why not?"

"Okay, I'll see you Sunday."

When Sasuke hung up, she squealed. And then she hugged her knees and rolled around in her bed. When her mother came up to check on her, she wondered if the stress had been eating away at Sakura's sanity.

* * *

The following morning at dawn, Temari was surprised to see Gaara already dressed. He had opened the door to the hallway, and the stench of urine and cheap beer wafted inside their small apartment. She grimaced.

"Are you going to the lab?"

"No. I am going to school to take the PSAT."

"What is the PSAT?"

"Another standardized test. Don't worry about it."

Sometimes Temari found it amazing that her little brother, who looked so young yet so tired, had come so far. There had never been any doubt that he was intelligent. But maybe their misfortune was a blessing in disguise for him, she thought. Sometimes he was exhausted, but he was ambitious and had found a purpose.

"_Udachi_."It was the first time in a long time that she had said something to him in their native tongue. After forbidding her brothers to speak Russian at home in order to perfect their English, she felt a bit hypocritical. And wishing Gaara luck on a standardized test was just as stupid. He had never been bad at anything his whole life. She wanted to take it back.

"Although I have no doubt that you—"

"Thank you, sister." He gave her the barest hint of a smile and left.

* * *

Kiba arrived at the Hyuuga Estate at exactly 7:55 am. It was the first time since basketball season was over that he had ever woken up before noon on a weekend. Hinata walked out of her mansion wearing sweatpants and carrying a duffel bag.

"Thank you so much for picking me up, Kiba!"

"Pfft, why wouldn't I? Hey, so maybe we can hang out after?"

"Yes! I want to take you to this really good ramen shop downtown."

"Sounds good. Never knew you liked ramen. "

"Oh…" An image of a certain boy with ramen-colored hair popped into her head. "For some reason I've been craving it a lot lately."

"Cool. So, what are you gonna do today? You said you've been working on some interpretive…jazz type thing with Kurenai?"

"Hm yes, but the one today isn't anything that we choreographed ourselves actually. Most of the kids at the recital will be eleven or twelve, so this is just for fun. But I think you'll appreciate this one."

"Oh, so is it something I've already seen before?"

"You'll just have to wait and see!"

When they arrived at the Art Center, Kiba gave Hinata a good luck kiss on the cheek and went inside the auditorium. He found Kurenai, who hugged him and sat next to him.

"Kiba, thanks for coming. I'm sure it means a lot to her."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," he smiled.

"Just to let you know. This isn't really original. This is just a fun routine that she's already had down a while ago. I had her do it because it would be a great confidence boost if she could nail it in front of an entire audience. The girl is talented, but I think she has anxiety issues, you know?"

"She'll be alright."

The curtains were raised and the recital began. Because Hinata was last, Kiba was forced to endure a string of performances by preteens. Most of it wasn't so bad, but he was not one who appreciated the fine arts. He had nothing to complain about, though. He was sitting next to a beautiful older woman and was going to hang out with one of his best friends afterwards, not to mention something of a date tomorrow. This was going to be a pretty good weekend. _No practice, no homework, just kickin' it. I wonder what Ino's gonna wear tomorrow…_

_

* * *

  
_

Neji couldn't believe he was doing this. It felt rusty because he hadn't done it in years. He still wasn't sure why he bothered. After all, he still had to finish his applications, and there was a chance she might not even be there. He had gone partially out of guilt, but also because of that dream he had.

It started a few nights ago. He dreamt of being hunted. He ran out of the city, and into the jungles, but the hunter was still hot on his trail. His usually quick legs felt heavy and sluggish. His muscles were made out of melting rubber. He did not even dare to look back at his pursuer. After what seemed like hours, he finally lost his battle. He felt a brute force pushing against his back, pushing him down into the moist earth. Two small but strong hands flipped him on his back. And he immediately saw. _Tenten. _Before he could ask anything, she straddled him, holding his chest down with dainty hands. She leaned into him. _A kiss? _And before anything could happen, he awoke with a violent jerk. He had been having the same dream each night since, and it bothered him, to say the least.

First, he had never had a remotely sensual or romantic dream. They seemed far beneath him. Maybe it wasn't so surprising for boneheads like Naruto or Kiba to experience sexual frustration once in a while, but not him. No, Neji Hyuuga was a man with important goals that surpassed the human need for food and reproduction. And second of all, he didn't think of Tenten that way. Sure, she was cute—maybe even pretty, but that was all. She certainly didn't have the obvious sex appeal that someone like Ino Yamanaka had. She seemed so nice and sincere that thinking of her that way just seemed so…wrong.

He had carefully avoided Tenten the next several days deliberately coming into the gym after seeing her leave, but could not stop thinking about her. He finally started to feel a bit guilty. It wasn't her fault he kept having recurring dreams of her. Now he wanted to see her again. And that was the reason why he was furiously pedaling Hanabi's bike downtown.

After twenty excruciating minutes of navigating the downtown streets, he finally found the restaurant. Upon seeing the neighborhood, he was glad he left his Bentley behind. Many sidewalks around the block were littered with broken glass from smashed car windows. It was a far cry from where he lived. One of every few blocks would be graced with a "gentlemen's club," which Neji guessed were frequented by scum that liked to think of themselves as gentlemen.

He lingered outside the restaurant, unsure of what he really meant to accomplish by going there. He silently scolded himself for feeling self-conscious. Tenten had never been particularly dignified when she was around him, he though, so why was he worrying now? He straightened his clothes and walked in the door.

"Neji!"

"Neji!"

He was greeted by Tenten and Lee, who were standing behind the takeaway counter clad in faded red polo shirts. Saying that Lee was happy to see him was an understatement. His wide grin revealed braces that seemed to reflect the bright lights of the restaurant.

"Lee, what are you doing here?"

"I promithed to help Tenten at the rethraurant today!"

"Oh."

"Here, Neji, take a seat! You must be hungry." Tenten ushered him to a nearby booth. To his dismay, Lee hastily laid a napkin on his lap before he could protest.

"Since you've finally dropped by, I'll give you the house special for free!"

"Exthelent idea, Tenten! I'll get the thauthe"

A few minutes later, Tenten and Lee served him a brown, crispy-looking duck, with its neck twisted at an impossible angle. The dead duck was smiling at him. Lee and Tenten waited eagerly by his table.

"Is there any way you could…dispose of the head?"

"Oh, of course! Hold on." Tenten quickly grabbed a chef's knife from behind the takeaway counter and chopped off the duck's head. No more dead animals smiling at Neji. He had had duck before, but he had never eaten it while it was still pretty much whole. He usually preferred not to recognize the animals he ate, but he didn't want to be rude. He slowly picked up his fork and carved a small piece of the duck and dipped it in the sauce. He held it for a moment inches away from his face. Tenten and Lee watched him intently with cautious smiles. _Here goes…_

He put the piece in his mouth and carefully chewed. _Hmmm, not too bad. _It was crispy, and a bit oilier than he preferred, but it was certainly edible.

"Thank you. This is excellent."

"Awethum!"

Tenten broke out a sigh of relief and gave him a warm smile. In that moment, Neji thought she was radiant.

* * *

"Hey, Hinata's up."

She walked to the center of the stage in black tights and leg warmers. Kiba suddenly felt himself becoming anxious. _Please don't let her mess up_, he prayed to whoever was listening. This seemed like a gamble. If she nailed it, it would give her a much needed confidence boost. But if anything else happened…

She sat on her knees, and the music began. _Oh shit, is she doing what I think she's doing? _Kiba didn't notice he started to grin like a lunatic. It was their song.

_First, when there's nothing but a slow glowing dream_

_That your fear seems to hide deep inside your mind_

_All alone I have cried silent tears full of pride_

_In a world made of steel, made of stone_

"Whoooooooooooooooo!" Kiba yelled a bit too long and too loud as the tempo quickened, but Hinata did not seem to mind. She seemed to glow as bright as the star he knew she was.

_Well I hear the music, close my eyes, feel the rhythm_

_Wrap around, take a hold of my heart_

_What a feeling, bein's believin'_

_I can't have it all, now I'm dancin' for my life_

_Take your passion, and make it happen_

_Pictures come alive, you can dance right through your life _

Hinata's heart soared. For those three minutes, she was not timid, she was not fat, she was not scared. She was fearless. When she heard Kiba let out a battle cry of encouragement, she became invincible. By the time she was done, the audience applauded her eagerly, and two people have her standing ovations. One of them howled like a werewolf on a full moon. Several of the young female performers envied Hinata for having what they thought was a sweet (not to mention hot) boyfriend there to support her.

After she took a bow, she immediately met her two biggest fans backstage. Kiba gave her a bear hug, not caring that she was soaked in her own perspiration.

"Kid, you were ridiculous! I can't believe you nailed _Flashdance_! You were wayyyyyy hotter than Jennifer Beals"

"Hinata, I couldn't have been more proud of you."

"Thank you! I love you both!"

At Ichiraku ramen, Kiba ordered tonkatsu udon and Hinata ordered miso ramen.

"So why can't Kurenai come again?"

"Oh, well I think she has a date."

"Nice." The food arrived. "So why haven't you gone on one yet?"

"W-what? What do you mean?"

"I mean, you're working on Hatake's project with Naruto, right? Why haven't you gone on a date with him? If you start going out with him now, you might get to second base before winter break and then leave the V team by the end of the school year, you know?"

Hinata choked on her noodles and Kiba had to slap her back several times to stop her violent coughing. He felt bad for laughing at her during her predicament but she was used to doing embarrassing herself around him.

"Kiba! How could you say that? What makes you think—"

"Aw come on! Anyone who's ever seen you around him knows you're like totally into him."

"Shhhh! Kiba. Let's not talk about this now."

"But we haven't hung out like this in so long! I've been busy with basketball, you've been working on school and dance. This is like the first time since the school year started that we're actually catching up."

"Well, then tell me about what's been going on with you." Hinata felt rather proud of herself by turning the tables on him. "Do you like anyone?"

"Well…pfft no. I mean…why would I?

"So you don't like Ino?"

"What?! Ino? How did you know—"

It was Hinata's turn to giggle. "I see Shikamaru every Friday. He told me you're seeing _Clueless _with Ino? I wonder, Kiba, when did you start developing a taste for chick flicks?"

Kiba groaned.

* * *

**A/N**: Did anyone recognize the song? If not, I highly recommend looking up Flashdance (What A Feeling) on youtube. That dance is a classic! Oh and sorry if anyone minds Lee's lisp. See, I love Lee's English dub voice. It almost sounds constipated, and I have no way of portraying that in the story, so I gave him a lisp instead. Please let me know if there's anything you don't like about this chapter (or any other ones), so I can take it into consideration for the next one. Thanks for reading!


End file.
